Chickens in a box

Eddie's away again this week so I am holding the fort and commuting between home, Thorngrove and Bedfont. It sort of works, but means working most evenings to catch-up on the time I lose travelling. I end up working in some pretty odd places, tonight the boys had tennis, so I parked myself on a bench with the MacBook to check my emails. At least I got to spend some time outside, and watch the boys. Win, win? Sort of. Picking James up this afternoon I asked him, as always, how his day had gone. "It's been a really good day. How many flies do you think are on this page?" He answered. "56?" "No." "61?" "No. 76!" With glee. "How come you've drawn a page of flies?" I asked. "I did it in English." Of course he did. What else would you do in an English lesson, right?

After seven days of hard work, William's efforts pay off with a perfect sourdough loaf! After! Pre-bake.

Time to teach the boys to make sourdough. This is going to be an excellent project - from start(er) to finish. They have to write down the instructions each step of the considerable way and I hope at the end when they bake their loaves they'll have the same sense of achievement that I feel whenever I manage to bake a sourdough successfully (which to be honest, isn't often, but still...). Today is bake day. Will's first out of the traps as James is away on a sleepover and not back until after lunch. We were a bit worried William's starter had died yesterday as it developed an ominous layer of fluid on the top, but after school drop off I drained the fluid and gave it a stir and by this morning it had recovered so much it had actually bowed the top of its tupperware up. We poured in into lukewarm water and it floated beautifully. Mine NEVER does that. #sourdoughenvy.  This is the recipe we're using - so far it hasn't failed me.  https://www.rivercottag...

Another day at work, another evening at work. This week Eddie is in Detroit, so the boys and I treated ourselves to a Papa John's XXL Double Pepperoni which Will ate so fast he literally made himself sick. Onto his plate. Tonight was the Opening of the Parents Evening Booking Portal. A horrific system dreamed up by sadists whereby you wait by your computer until the portal is unlocked at 19.30 and there is a free-for-all as parents virtually scrabble for time with teachers. Ususally I'm a ninja at this, demonic in my determination to bag the best slots. But next Thursday I have to be on a call until 6pm so can't go to any of the early slots. Added to which Eddie's in Vienna all week and I can't remember what time he gets back. A narrower field meant that in the end I only managed to get four appointments, and missed out on Geography which I know William really wanted us to talk about (because he loves it). Beyond annoying. Back to work after the brief pizza/pa...

This week we had our monthly team meeting in Galway, most exciting because I could try out my new Samsonite luggage - one of the ones with the spinny wheels, very snazzy. The weather was unbelievable, gale force winds and torrential rain. Slogging up the M4 to T2 was nerve-wracking, the Mazda isn't designed for stormy motorways... Got to Heathrow and met up with my colleagues who were all in high spirits and trying to guess how bumpy the flight was going to be. Laughing with them on the outside, inside I was consumed with anxiety. In the end, most of the flight was OK, although I do have to admit to a medicinal Bombay Sapphire which was inhaled in seconds for the princely sum of £8.50 (worth it). And then the Captain came on; "We're being held outside Shannon while we wait for a gate to become available, so we'll be in a holding pattern for another 10 - 15 minutes." Turned out to be one of the most hellish, bumpy 15 minutes of my entire life. Swirling in the c...

Yesterday we held an incredible event called Women of Impact , bringing together countries and continents and sharing aspirations, experiences and learnings about how to empower women - and men - across the business to achieve their potential, build their confidence and live their dreams. It was fantastic and I came home buzzing. Opening the door after a clear run down the M4, music up loud, I was greeted by a super-stressed Eddie trying to keep on top of his emails while the boys were having some squabble or other. "Can you put on the bubble and squeak?" He asked, passing the dish. "Of course. I'll just go and get changed." I said. Going upstairs, I changed into my customary evening garb; slouch pants, Gap sweatshirt and 'The Snow Leopard' (a hideous, furry, faux-leopard-print dressing gown with a pale pink blush). Turning to find my fluffy slippers and finish the outfit I stepped in cat sick; a sprinkling of regurgitated kibbles with just enough...

An Ecosystem in the garden is something I've been banging on about for two years. On the back of a brown piece of paper I keep in the drawer of my dressing table, is a plan of what it would like, materials and costings.  As with all these things, timing and expense are of the essence. On Saturday morning the sun shone, the birds were singing, a carpet of daffodils and snowdrops covered the beds and I woke up full of Spring and a strong pull to be a part of it. As I studied the garden from my bedroom window thinking about where to put the new new ecosystem, James came in.  "We should go out and look for tadpoles," he announced. My thoughts precisely. Or rather, the next thought that I was just about to have after I'd decided what do to with the new Ecosystem we were going to make.  So James and I went for a 'tadpole run' all round the fields of East End where we know the ponds are; scrambling through brambles and at one point being chased by what we ...

It's taken me 24 hours to recover sufficiently to be able to summarise the debacle that was the half hour between 7.30am - 8.00am yesterday morning. N.B Take it as read that we'd gone through the whole; time to get up, draw your curtains, have you made your bed? Come down and help with breakfast, eat your breakfast etc. daily routine.  And now the curve ball from William at 7.45am, five minutes before we're all due to head off..."I just need to get my stuff for Food Tech." For those of you born of an older generation, Food Tech is what used to be Domestic Science or what we oldies commonly call Cookery. William has a lesson every week and this Thursday it was lasagne. He had managed to 'chop' a carrot and onion into various shapes and sizes and put it in tupperware (leaving detritus all over the kitchen top and floor). Eddie'd gone to the shops to get him his mince. So far so good. But what William had failed to do was measure and prepare all t...